The present invention relates to a new medical therapeutic device, and more particularly to a portable medical therapeutic device for placing various portions of a patient's body into either traction or compression, which device has a number of extraordinary advantages which includes not only an ability to effect either traction or compression, but such traction or compression can be applied to a number of different portions of the human body, such as compression on one or both legs, cervical traction, lumbar and thoracic traction and other such variations. Furthermore, the device can be utilized to effect such tension or compression while the patient is lying down at rest, and because of its portable nature, the device can be transported to a patient in need thereof lying on a bed, surgical table, x-ray table, massage table, floor, accident site or virtually anywhere a patient in need thereof may be located. In addition, the device can optionally include a dynamometer for measuring the applied traction or compressive forces.
It is well known by medical personnel, that application of traction or compression to portions of the human body may be therapeutically necessary or desired, during several differing medical procedures, such a providing protective measures during massage, treatment or exercise for muscle stimulation, surgical procedures, or merely to providing comfort and protection to accident victims or wounded persons.
Most prior art devices for placing patient into traction or compression, usually comprise a table onto which the patient is placed, and include attachments for supporting the patient at various points along the body, many of which are usually localized in the area of the armpits. Such tables can normally be place in an inclined position, so that the patient's own weight will cause him or her to hang by the armpits, causing tense muscles and overloading of the armpits, which is a rather delicate region of the human body. Other types of equipment are known wherein a lying patient is tied near the waist and neck area with tension applied by the patient's own foot motion.
Many forms of prior art equipment are capable of providing only one form of traction, so that it is not possible, for example, to accomplish cervical traction in combination with lumbar traction, or to effect compression. Another characteristic of most prior art equipment included the fact that it is not possible to measure the degree of tractive or compressive forces applied, which is most unfortunate in many exercises.
Still another prior art device is known wherein a lying patient is placed in traction at one end by harnessing the neck, while a cable, passing under the legs held in the air by a special device, acts along the pelvis. This type of equipment cannot accomplish compression, nor even tension in certain isolated parts of the human body. Here too, there is no way to measure the forces applied.
Common to almost all such prior art devices, is the fact that they are not portable, making it impractical or impossible to transport the device to the patient, thereby necessitating that the patient be transported to the location of the device, even in situations where such patient movement may not be medically advisable. In addition, such prior art devices are not normally self-sufficient, in that most normally require the use of special support, such as a bed with special features for installing and/or attaching the traction/compression equipment to the bed or a support structure adjacent to the bed.